


I almost said I love you (I almost think I meant it)

by chichee



Category: Lumine (Webcomic)
Genre: Coming of Age, Drabble Collection, M/M, Slow Burn, slight AU but everything is still magical
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-05
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:34:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24553954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chichee/pseuds/chichee
Summary: Lumine just wants to figure it out. Kody just wants to shut him up.In which boys trip over their words, corridor ankles and true love.Or: The laid-back highschool AU literally no one asked for, served up in ittty-bitty pieces.
Relationships: Kody/Lumine (Lumine)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 40





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mornings were the worst.

“Did you hear, the new kid-?”

“-Yeah, I know it’s crazy!”

“That’s because he’s-“

Whispers piled on top of each other in the classroom, the buzz amplified by the frenzy of every first day back at school. Kody swiped to the next song before burying himself deeper in his hoodie. He kept his head down. The bruise on his neck throbbed, it was Jay’s little present from his last trip to the bathroom. Kody scowled. He wouldn’t be taking anymore of _those_ anytime soon.

The class was of course, still in frenzy about the new kid. Whatever. Probably another hot shot that had parents on the principals' board.

The teacher- Mr Hooper or something- was yelling at the front for everyone to quiet down. Kody sunk lower in his seat. The mid-morning sunlight streamed from the window and surrounded him in it’s drowsy warmth. It was a nice day, but Kody knew it wouldn't stay that way once everyone found out about his...abilities. There was a flash of white and blue from the corner of his eye, but his lids already falling shut.

“U-um, Hi everyone! My name is Lumine, I-I hope we can all get along!”

But Kody was already fast asleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Drabble time bois.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The new kid is a pain.

“U-um.” A cough. “H-hey, Kody!”

The first few days, Kody had no trouble staying out of Lumine’s way. There were more than enough classmates that wanted a piece of the new kid to do that for him. But between the rumours of how clumsy the new kid was combined with Kody’s awful luck, it was only a matter of time before something like this happened. Kody pulled down his hoodie and paced faster. He didn’t feel like getting chatty with another potential bully.

“H-hey!” A hand latched onto his shoulder as Kody was spun around. “Are you Kody?”

It was the new kid, Lumine or whatever. He was hunched over and panting, his hair was a snowy white mess with two dog ears peeking out, the sign of a weredog. Kody waited and sighed.

“Yes. What is it?”

“I..uh..”

“Spit it out. I don’t have all day.”

Lumine lifted his head. Kody nearly flinched. His left eye a startling blue, but in his right eye the blue transitioned halfway into yellow. It was disorienting to a thirteen year old, to say the least.

“I’m uh, lost.” Lumine grinned sheepishly. “I think I have Magic Theory with Mr Lupis, but I’m new and I’ve only been homeschooled, so I don’t really know my way around yet.” As if he let something slip he shouldn't have, Lumine waved his hands in front of him frantically “B-but I will soon!”

“Hn.” Kody sighed as he gestured to the empty hallway. “Straight ahead, turn left. Walk if you see Mrs Gilovich, she looks like an old lady but you don’t wanna cross her-“

“Looks like-?”

“-And take the stairs down, it’ll be the third door on your right.” Kody finished. By the look on Lumine’s face, he had already forgotten the first half of his instructions. Not his problem. “Anyways, we’re done here.”

He turned on his heel, ready to storm off and find wherever Calla and her posse had stuffed his history book _this_ time-

“Wait, Kody!”

“What now.” Kody turned, fully ready to walk off only to see Lumine fidgeting with his strange eyes downcast. Kody tried not to feel like an ass. _He’s not awful_ , a voice inside him whispered.

“I know it’s a bit forward since we just met, but um,” Lumine gulped comedically. “I’m probably not going to make it in time, and-and I heard you were a witch! So maybe you could-?”

“Get lost.” Kody snapped. God, of course he was another one that liked to rub it in.

"Huh? W-wait, Kody!"

Kody turned his heel and made the rest of his way down the hallway, ignoring whatever pleas the weredog was calling out. Serves him right for blabbering things he didn't know a damn thing about.

Scratch whatever his inner voice said.

The new kid was an absolute pain.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thirteen is a hard age to be.

Kody’s finds his history book in the third garbage bin behind the P.E. block.

It’s unoriginal- that’s where he found his physics textbook last time. Calla must be running out of ideas. Kody picked it up with his thumb and forefinger gingerly. Its once pristine cover was grubby, and the gold text at the front smeared with something sticky. Kody flicked through the pages- just as he thought- most of them were burned illegible.

Kody let the book fall from his hands into the trash with a bang. There wasn’t a point in crying over it. He was an idiot for thinking Calla would have left it in any salvageable shape. She might have been vicious, but she wasn’t stupid.

He’s already spent up half of his recess looking for it. Kody’s stomach growled. This had been going on for a year now, first it was just shoves, now when the teachers had started to take notice they had escalated to wrecking his stuff.

A year ago, his blood would have boiled, he would have run back- spitting and furious to give Calla a piece of his mind. Maybe he would have tried to summon a flare of fire, just to prove that he could- even if it pushed him into the hospital for a week. But now he slumped back against the bricks, tilting his head up. The sky was so barren it looked like it was made of concrete. There was no one that could hear him, no one that could see him if he started to cry. Kody unwrapped his sandwich.

Now he was older, and he knew that nothing he did would help.

Kody ate his food in silence. He wasn’t a kid anymore. He was thirteen, and he knew his place.

* * *

“What’s up with him?”

“I dunno Cassy, let’s just go-”

Lumine pushed himself on the swing. His papa was meant to be back by today, but so far, the sun was setting and there was no sign of a hulking black shepherd. The group of girls nearby were pittering behind his back. It was awfully rude, Lumine thought huffily. If they could see his ears, they would know he could hear them. Weredogs had enhanced hearing after all.

After another twenty or so minutes, the girls and the any other few stragglers left in the park took their leave. Tiny pinpricks of starlight dotted the dusky sky, darkening yet somehow illuminating it all at once. 

“It’s a helluva lot nicer than Terravano, that’s for sure.”

Lumine yelped and fell off the swing, planting face first into the dirt.

“P-papa!” he yelled, cheeks flushing.

“Aw, did your old man scare you?”

His Papa, Noel, ruffled his hair gruffly. His face creased into a stubbly grin; grey eyes full of mirth. Lumine let himself enjoy the moment before peering up at him, full of alarm.

“Papa! What happened to your arm?”

“Nothing I couldn’t handle, pup.” Noel crouched down. His right forearm was completely encased in bandages. “But I missed your first day of school! How are you settling in, Lumine?”

“School? Ah…” Everyone had been nice to him so far, save that Kody kid with the angry green eyes. He knew his papa was asking since Solefor was the first time he had entered a real high school. “It’s been good papa, everyone is nice to me.”

“Bah, you haven’t made any close friends have you punk?” Noel rumbled, looping his hands under Lumine’s armpits and hoisting him up to eye level. Up close, Noel's gaze looked even sterner.

“Ah-ah Papa, stop!” Lumine flushed and struggled. “Y-you can put me down, your arm is hurt!”

Lumine could tell his papa was shifting most of his weight over to his good arm, which trembled underneath his weight.

 _It’s all your fault,_ a voice in his head hissed.

Lumine lowered his eyes. “Papa, I’m not a kid anymore.”

The reason they had left Terravano was because Hunters had been on their trail. There was no way they could stay there any longer after the second time their home was broken into. Papa only left the last couple of weeks to push back a few and feint false tracks for the remainder.

 _They would sell you for your hide, and heart, werewolf pelt- that would make a pretty penny on the market_. His papa had told him once, until his sister slapped him across the head and told him not to scare the goddamn six year old. But Lumine never forgot.

_You will never be able to live freely._

“Nonsense, you’re only thirteen.” Noel said gruffly, as if he noticed his son's sudden change in demeanor.“You’ve got a ways to go before you’re too heavy for your papa to toss you over like a bag of carrots.”

Old enough to no longer pass for a regular weredog. Young enough slaughter easily.

“Come on Lumine, let’s look at the stars a bit while we’re here, eh?”

Lumine only put on his brightest smile for his papa.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Apologies. Kody isn't familiar with them.

Lumine tries to talk to him again.

“Kody!”

Kody almost groaned, putting down his book. It was a simple illustrated encyclopedia of magical herbs. The library was one of the best places in the school: no one talked to him, the librarian liked him, and he always felt less lonely when surrounded by hundreds of books.

Lumine was standing over his table, fidgeting with his hands. Kody waited for him to spit it out.

“Um, what’s that book about?”

“Plants.” Kody said. The silence dragged on. Kody was almost about to turn back to his book and ignore the weredog, before Lumine blurted out-

“Hey, sorry about last time, if I said something wrong I didn’t mean it!” Lumine looked so distressed at the possibility of offending him, Kody couldn’t help but crack a smile. “Witches are pretty cool, and I didn’t know asking for a spell might have been rude, but I swear I wasn’t-”

“Shh, this is a library.” Kody interjected, but a pool of warmth settled in his stomach. It was nice, to be given an apology, even if Lumine didn’t know the whole truth. “And yeah, it’s fine, you’re forgiven and all that. Go back to barking at eachother or whatever you weredogs do.”

Lumine bristled, looking suitably affronted.

“We don’t _bark_.”

“Yeah well, witches can’t teleport people whenever they feel like either. You need spells and stuff.” Kody shot back, reaching for another book. Hopefully one with more pictures if Lumine kept pestering him like this.

It was quiet for a beat, until Lumine broke it again, hesitation in his voice this time.

“Do you have any friends, Kody?”

Kody’s knee jerk reaction would have been to snap. It was the school’s worst kept secret that Kody had no friends. But there was something earnest in Lumine’s voice. 

“Does it look like I have any?”

Lumine looked thoughtfully at him from the table, undeterred.

“Can we be friends?”

He probably thought Kody would be jumping for joy at that question. Viciously, he thought that was probably how even the new kid saw him. It didn't matter how nice he was, he still pitied him like the rest. Loser Kody. Useless Witch.

“No.” He stood up and walked out of the library, not turning back once to see Lumine’s expression.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been ages! I'll try to update more frequently but no promises. 
> 
> x. chich


End file.
